Opening Doors And Broadening Transit Accessibility - DART Silver Line Connects Plano to Fort Worth.

The DART 2030 Transit System Plan (TSP), approved in October 2006, identified the Cotton Belt Corridor (now referred to as the Silver Line Regional Rail Project) as a priority project. In 2016, DART advanced implementation of the project to the year 2022 in its FY2017 Twenty-Year Financial Plan.

The 26-mile Silver Line extends between DFW Airport and Shiloh Road in Plano (see map below). The alignment traverses seven cities: Grapevine, Coppell, Dallas, Carrollton, Addison, Richardson and Plano. The Silver Line Project's primary purpose is to provide passenger rail connections and service that will improve mobility, accessibility and system linkages to major employment, population and activity centers in the northern part of the DART Service Area.

The Silver Line Project would interface with three DART LRT lines: The Red/Orange Lines in Richardson/Plano, the Green Line in Carrollton and the Orange Line at DFW Airport. In addition, at DFW Airport, the project would connect to the Fort Worth Transportation Authority TEXRail Regional Rail Line to Fort Worth and provide access to the DFW Airport Skylink People Mover.

On August 28, 2018, the DART Board approved a Service Plan Amendment which defined the Project alignment, grade separations, and station locations. Also on August 28, 2018, the DART Board also approved an residential betterments program along the Corridor.

On June 18, 2019, the DART Board approved a resolution to name future service as the Silver Line. Customers will see the Silver Line in operation after completion with 30-minute peak and 60-minute off-peak service.

Post FEIS/ROD Project Changes - Memoranda To File

The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) completed the Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS)/ Record of Decision (ROD) for the Silver Line in November 2018. Since then, FTA and DART have met regularly (both monthly and quarterly) to review the Silver Line's progress and any potential change in design or mitigation measure. Any proposed change to the Silver Line Regional Rail Project is addressed by DART and the FTA in accordance with 23 CFR §771.129 and 23 CFR §771.130, which provide guidance on re-evaluations and supplemental documents. Changes must be documented appropriately and must be reviewed and approved by FTA. The format of the re-evaluation is at the Regional Administrator's discretion but must be commensurate with the project change and associated environmental impact. For the Silver Line Project, DART is preparing Memoranda to File to address project changes. These Memoranda to File are comprehensive reviews of the project changes with appropriate detail and coordination. Some include additional analysis which may result in new or modified mitigations that may be required to support a conclusion that there are no new significant impacts. FTA and DART meet at least monthly to review project progress and potential design and/or mitigation changes to ensure they are appropriately addressed.

Memoranda are submitted to FTA when there is sufficient detail and analysis for FTA to make a determination on the project change. Most project changes are the result of continued design progression and city or stakeholder coordination, and it is anticipated that project changes would not result in any substantial impact to the quality of the human environment, and the previously approved FEIS/ROD of November 9, 2018, would remain valid.

The DART Silver Line vehicles are nearing completion in Salt Lake City, Utah. Starting in February 2023, these state-of-the-art vehicles will make their way home to North Texas. People across the DART service area need and deserve dependable, reliable transportation. When the DART Silver Line Regional Rail opens, it will take them to the places they want to be. Commuters will take the rail to work at the 210,000 jobs within a ½ mile of the corridor, families will go on adventures to more activities, festivals, concerts, fairs, and sporting events, and students to schools known for academic rigor, career focus, and social opportunities. It's more than a ride, the Silver Line Regional Rail will transform lives and help the people in our community reach their full potential.

The DART Silver Line will feature a fleet of state-of-the-art vehicles manufactured by Stadler Inc. The vehicles are compliant with FRA requirements since the passenger rail will share much of the corridor with freight operations (no freight will ever traverse the North Dallas section of the corridor). Unlike DART’s light rail vehicles, overhead catenary cannot be used as it is incompatible with freight clearances. The diesel engines will be compliant with EPA Tier 4 ultra-low emission standards.